Indiana's Tevin Coleman and USC's Leonard Williams heading to the NFL

A couple of potential first round NFL draft picks made their professional intentions known on Monday.

Indiana's Tevin Coleman and USC's Leonard Williams will both be heading to the NFL.

Coleman was one of the best running backs in college football in 2014 and joins a stacked class of running back early entries that includes Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley, Jay Ajayi and Duke Johnson.

I would like to thank my family, coaches, teammates, and fans for their unwavering support," Coleman said in a statement. "Coming to Indiana University was an incredible opportunity for me. Everyone at IU and in Bloomington has demonstrated why this place is so special. It has been a dream of mine to play professionally, and I am prepared to take the next step in making that dream into a reality."

Coleman had 2,036 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns for the Hoosiers. He broke the 100-yard barrier in every game but against Penn State.

Williams, a defensive tackle, had seven sacks and 80 total tackles in 2014. He could be a top-10 pick in the draft.

"This was a very hard decision for me," Williams said in a statement. "I love USC, Coach Sark and the coaching staff, my teammates and the fans, and I love the game of college football. It's hard to leave all of that. I know life is never the same once you leave college.

"But I feel like it's the right time for me to go. I feel like I'm ready. I'm looking forward to the new challenge that the NFL presents.

Miami OL Ereck Flowers and Penn State OL Donovan Smith declared for the draft along with Utah OL Jeremiah Poutasi.

#Utah OL Jeremiah Poutasi will enter the 2015 NFL Draft. Here's his statement. http://pic.twitter.com/wycQBlIIJe

— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) December 29, 2014

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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from Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/indiana-s-tevin-coleman-and-usc-s-leonard-williams-heading-to-the-nfl-233123948.html